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Negasonic Teenage Warhead isn't a well-known character from Marvel Comics but with her outlandish, attention-grabbing callsign, she was an easy pick to include in the story of Deadpool for writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The pair didn't even know her powers when they were looking through a list of available characters the studio had access to. They were searching at the request of director Tim Miller to add more mutants to the film to "emphasize a little bit more sort of superpowers and superheroes."

Where Deadpool represents the first feature film directorial debut of Tim Miller, it's also the first major acting role for young Brianna Hildebrand, a musician and dancer who only recently moved to LA to pursue her passions. Convinced to do a few auditions by her managers, Hildebrand is now playing a member of the X-Men.

We visited the set of Deadpool in May and spoke with Hildebrand about the experience of joining the franchise; the style and attitude of Negasonic Teenage Warhead; her superhero costume and role among the X-Men; her relationship with Deadpool and Colossus; and growing up with crush on Ryan Reynolds.

What do you like most about your character?

Brianna Hildebrand: I guess what I just like the most about my character is just her attitude, because she’s so athletic and cool and so unlike me in my normal daily life. She just doesn’t care.

How does she get involved with Deadpool and what’s the relationship like?

Brianna Hildebrand: Negasonic Teenage Warhead is Colossus’s sidekick. When she gets involved with Deadpool… they have this interesting relationship. It’s kind of like brother and sister. They are on the same side. But they kind of butt heads a lot of the time. That’s how I would explain it, he's my brother. Me and my brother get along like that.

So is she an X-Men character because of her relationship with Colossus?

Brianna Hildebrand: Yes. She is.

You’re a mind reader?

Brianna Hildebrand: Yeah. She can see the future, so that’s cool, too. [laughs] I wish I could do that.

What’s been your biggest challenge so far during production?

Brianna Hildebrand: I don’t know, actually. It’s all been really fun and gone really smoothly. Probably the stunts, though, if I have to say anything, like in the training for the stunts, probably. I was a dancer, so it’s unlike anything I’ve ever had to do before. It’s like, “Wow. This takes a lot of energy.” But other than that, it’s been really fun and smooth. Yeah, I love everybody, so it’s good.

Her ability to see the future, does that filter to the storyline?

Brianna Hildebrand: Actually, kind of not really because in this first… at least for now, what she sees is a little bit sarcastic with Deadpool. It’s kind of just her way of getting under Deadpool’s skin. So it wouldn’t really contribute as much, not as much as her power to explode, because she explodes.

How does that work?

Brianna Hildebrand: She runs and explodes at things. She’s like a warhead. So she detonates, I guess would be how to explain it. Doing the training for the running, that was hard because I’m not a runner. I was like, “[gasps for air]. OK, guys!”

Were you familiar with the Deadpool comics before?

Brianna Hildebrand: Actually, I wasn’t. And then I started talking to Ed [Skrein], who plays Ajax. And he is like a total comic book nerd. I went over to his apartment and he had all of his comic books laid out. So I borrowed a few. So I’ve started reading Deadpool. I’m on Volume 2 of the complete collection, so I’ll let you know how it turns out. [laughs]

How much fun is it being able to shoot here in Vancouver?

Brianna Hildebrand: Awesome. I love Vancouver. It’s beautiful. I went ziplining the other weekend. And I’ve been hiking. The other day the weather was kinda crazy, [laughs] but other than that it’s really beautiful. It’s great scenery.

Brianna Hildebrand: It was kind of difficult at first. I kind of just had to build my own idea of who I thought he was. I’m super excited to see how he turns out, see what he actually is and be like, “Oh, that’s what I’ve been talking to.” I’ve just kind of imagined him as this big metal guy and tried not to think too hard about it.

Do you consider the character Negasonic Teenage Warhead a full-fledged superhero or is she a little questionable? Because Deadpool is not. He’s an anti-hero.

Brianna Hildebrand: I would say she’s a little questionable, because she is a trainee [of the X-Men team], so she’s kind of just growing into her powers. She’s still so young, so she’s growing into who she is and everything. So I would say she’s a little questionable.